Making me happy...

01. Getting this blog up once again. This skin is different from the other one, real simple isn't it? but i'm liking it!
02. The colors of strawberry and leaves.
03. School supplies. Finally located a scrapbooking cutter with different trimming blades. How fun is that?
04. Long weekend. Heading off for an adventure tomorrow! Picking my dear brother up from the airport and off we go to climb one of the highest mountain in Thailand.
05. Enjoying the last few days of winter with ice-cream in one hand.
06. Friendships that get more beautiful with time.
07. Finally got down to my to-do-list. Got organised, cleared out the junkies! Made birthday cards for Feb people.
08. Being able to talk to my Heavenly Father in my secret closet.
09. Smiles from children. Realising how much I love my students.
10. Being inspired by the many things I see!

Under Construction

My blogskin has been infested! The whole page reads:
Update to pro today! Bandwidth Exceeded. I don't get it!
Looks like this place will be under major renovation.
Watch this space.

His Ways Are Higher

Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally. This is one book girls should have in their must have book list! As I read this book the second time, they had some suggested assignments I thought would be fun to do. So here's one at the end of the 2nd Chapter. The assignment was:

"A young lady once wrote me a letter saying how hard it was for her because she didn't have anyone to date. This hurting girl was lonely and frustrated, and she kept noticing everyone else with their boyfriends. She was feeling so desperate that she began writting letters to guys she knew, inviting them to events, and trying to get their attention. If this girl asked you for advice, what would you tell her? What suggestions would you give her? Write a sample letter, giving some counsel to this young lady. Be sure to include scripture in your answer."

This is what I wrote:

Dear Daughter of the King,

I know how it feels when one does not seem to be noticed. "Am I not beautiful" are the thoughts and doubts that usually crowd our mind. Every girl longs to feel some sort of admiration from young men. Yet, let me assure you God loves you, and has made you just the way He wants you to be. You are beautiful in His eyes! That's really all that matters.

These single years the Lord has given you are so precious. Don't waste them away just dreaming of a knight or trying to attract boyfriends. Writting letters to get attention is not the way! God will bring the perfect husband for you in His perfect time. In the meantime, "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for LORD." (Psalm 27:14)

"But why?" you may wonder. "How would I know he's the one when I've not dated around?" I would like you to think about your future husband. How would he feel if you gave pieces of your heart to many different young men? You'd only be left with shattered pieces to present him. How tragic.

The life of a young lady devoted wholly to God is not easy. We can't do it on our own. Wait on God. HE will be faithful. " And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Use these days of your youth to fall deeper in love with Christ! Serve your family. This is the best place of preparation for the future and it brings so much fulfillment. Minister to others. It gives you a new ability to dicern spiritual needs, developing the wisdom required to understand and evaluate a potential marriage partner.

Remember! Put God's work first and He will take care of the rest! "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

Your wait will definately be worth it!

Sincerely,
Lydia

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this soild ground
Firm through fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

Moving On

We got a call from our landlord yesterday that when our contract ends this April, we've got to move out. I've never felt this way when we had to move out of our house in Greenridge or Ivory Heights. I feel kind of lost because there is now no where in this world I can call my own. Where will we go? This house contains so many memories, so many stories from the past 2 years here in Thailand. From a shabby cob web filled house to one cosy warm home filled with love.

Bit by bit, we fixed the place up. From clearing the smelly clogged up drains, to scrubbing the greasy oil filled kitchen. Just 4 months ago, Chrissy, Lois and I painted the living room in yellow. What a makeover! 5 days ago, I painted our staircase wall white. This place was reconstructed and slowly built together by each member of the family. I guess that is why it holds such sentimental value. Our neighbours are another reason too.

As I thought about it all, I was reminded about Abraham. He had all kinds of unknown before him! But he had faith. Faith, does not focus on the unknown nor does it brood over how uncertain things are. Faith lifts up its eyes to the city whose builder and maker is God.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10 NET)

In Genesis 12, God tells Abraham to get up leave everything behind. And that's what Abraham did. His obdience was just grounded on God's command and the promise of God's blessings. He lived in tents! Makes me feel very grateful now. What Abraham longed for above everything was eternal life with God, life in a heavenly country, in the city built by God.

'Lord, please grant me faith like Abraham.'

Mr. Hel-met-toh

It's been such a search to find you. I was wondering if I'd ever find one which fits me just right... everyone i tried on was either too big or small. I must have a really weird head shape. But finally, when I saw you sitting on that abandon shelf, I knew you'd be mine! haha. And guess what I got from a friend? I wonder if I'd ever use it. Goes very well with Mr. Hel-met-tho and my black bike but... me in this? *hmmm

feeling graphic in black and white today

two-oh-oh-eight

I'm gonna zoom, zoom, zoom
Around the room, room, room
I'm gonna zoom around the room
And praise my Lord!

The year 2007 has passed more quickly than any before; so much has happened and filled it's days. I've learnt to wait and trust God in uncertainty. I've learned that I can't do things on my own. Now, I look forward to this year. 2008 lays before me... a whole book of unwritten pages. I hope I will learn even more of what God has for me. Growth is exciting! It brings new challenges.

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:8,9

We fumble, He humbles

I left Singapore in the wee hours of 2nd Jan 2008 to return to life in Thailand. I thought to myself what a wonderful start to this New Year! Back to the peaceful lifestyle I enjoy. Little did I know that God had something up His sleeves…

We had 6 luggages, a desktop computer plus 4 carry-ons, handled by one man & three ladies! Just like what I’d expected, our check-in luggages were overweight. After a quick calculation on which luggage to be hand-carried, they choose mine.

As most of you know, no liquids are allowed on board. I thought hard on what I had packed days ago and remembered that all my toiletries were in another bag. Time was ticking away and we needed to grab a bite before we boarded the budget plane, so we said our goodbyes to those kind souls who sent us off at that crazy hour.

Just to reassure myself, I opened my luggage, gave a very brief check and headed confidently through immigration. At the security counter, as my luggage went through the scanner, the lady in blue gave me this look. “Oh no!” was all I remembered saying.

She practically turned my luggage inside out. My clothing’s spilled all over. Couldn’t she do it in a more gracious manner? The queue behind me grew longer as my heart beat faster. Finally, she found the offending article - I had a bottle of bubbles from Toy‘R’Us and another bottle of special glue for scrap booking which cost me $20. No way was I allowing her to just throw it away!

“If only I did a thorough check” I kept blaming myself. Thank God mom was just behind me. She worked her brains and quickly made a call to our friends who had already left the airport. The lady in blue seeing how desperate I was, was nice enough to give a little help in stuffing my clothes back.

We tried asking the officials if they could pass it to our friends who were turning back to pick it up, but they were so unfriendly! My mom, being someone who never gives up easily, went to the immigration office and requested if she could walk out even though we had already been through passport control. From where I stood seeing her, I uttered a quick prayer but I somewhat gave up hope.

Within the next 10 mins, my mom came back empty handed with a wide smile. My heart rejoiced! “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” (Ps 136:1). Even in these little situations of life, He is in control.

Hurriedly, we ate something from the café and then heard the announcement that it was the last call for our flight! What a scene, seeing us run down that long hallway with the amount of carry-ons we had, just like in a movie.

My dad suddenly stopped “Does any of you have my waist pouch?” He took off his jacket and searched in vain. “This can’t be happening to us!” I thought. We dropped everything. The green waist pouch was our life! There was important stuff inside. A credit card, some money, internet banking toggle, and most importantly, dad’s Thai work permit (which took us a year to apply).

My dad ran back to the security scanner. As we waited, I went down on my knees to pray. I had high hopes this time, but he came back shaking his head. I don’t know how to express my feelings at that point of time. Last call! Last call! Should we board the plane?

Everything seemed to happen in just a split second. Once we got on the plane, the doors were closed and we were airborne! What is going to happen next? “God, why?”, I asked. He replied, “One moment you can be praising Me, and the next you doubt Me?”. I was ashamed.

With tears in my eyes, I thanked Him with a genuine heart, knowing that He held our family in His mighty hands. It was a struggle within, but I chose to rest under His wings. We landed safely in Chiang Mai and to our delight Rev Abel was there to meet us. Thank God for friends!

Since it was the New Year season, we weren’t able to get tickets for our 4-hour coach ride home to Mae Sai. With the help of Rev Abel, we finally got a van to transport us. By the time we boarded the van, we were so drained. The next moment I opened my eyes, I was back home!

As we were unpacking our luggages, we contemplated how to report the lost waist pouch. All of a sudden, at the very bottom of my luggage, we saw the lost pouch! We shouted at the top of our voices with surprise, joy and thankfulness to our Heavenly Father.

We figured that after it went through the security scanner, my dad forgot to pick it up and as my pile of clothes was laid out and stuffed back in, the pouch somehow went in too. What a way to start our year with this lesson of trust from the Lord!

Wishing each of you God’s best for the year ahead! Blessed 2008!

Wedding Bells

Finally! (29th Dec) Ming & Chee Fai

At St Ignatius. First time I attended a Catholic wedding.

Cupcake love

The Fongs (3 generations) - Don't they just look dashing

Fine Dining

Mr. & Mrs Kum

My precious ones

Now, I hope I can be an auntie soon ;)

Look at grandma she's all smiles in her new cheongsam. She said she's only giving me another 5 years before she wants to wear this cheongsam again at my wedding :-/

A Christmas Memory

It was not just special because I was able to spend it in S'pore with my family and close friends. Yes, the lights and deco did add to it but what more is there to Christmas?

On Christmas Eve, I was all excited and ready to head out for some last minute Christmas shopping before Church service. I still had a long list to complete. Heading out with sis & Zac, we passed our usual kopi shop. Sam was there with a couple of his school friends so we decided to stop for some 'teh-ping' and soon we were invited into their conversation.


How do you know God exist? What is faith? How do you know the Bible is truth? He had some tough questions for us. But as we shared, I saw a genuine interest in his eyes. A longing to know, a longing to find his purpose in life. Tears filled my eyes as I ended in prayer. Handing him a tract, we parted ways...


We got him a Bible and though I wasn't able to do my shopping that did not matter! The opportunity to share about my Heavenly Father on that special day was more than I could ask for. It was the best gift!